Smoke-mask for respiration apparatus.



A.B.DRAGER.

SMOKE MASK FOR RESPIRATION APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 18, 1910.

Patented J l zs, 1914.

4 SEE S-SHEET 1.

A; B DRKGER. smoxE MASK Pon RESPIRATION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 18,,1910.

1,105,127.- Patented Ju1y28,'1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

4/ 5M W W 9% A. B. DRAGER.

SMOKE MASK FOR RESPIRATION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 0011s, 1910.

1 1 O5, 1 2'7. Patented July 28, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A. B. DRAGER. SMOKE MASK FOR RESPIRATION APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 18, 1910.

1,1 05,1 2'7. Patented m 28, 1914,

4 snnnws-sm1m '4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER BEa HAR-n DRAGER, F LtTBEoK, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T0 BERGER- WERK HEINR. UNI) BERNH. DEAGER, or LirBEoK, GERMANY.

SMOKE-MASK FOB RESIBIRATION APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 28, 1914..

To all whom it may 0011mm Be it known that I, ALEXANDER BERNHARD DRXGER, a sub ect of the German Emperor,

, residing at Ll'ibeck, Germany, have invented ducing a close joint, which tube fills out the gap between therigid or almost rigid rim of the mask and the head of the wearer, so that a hermetical closure is obtained between the inside of the mask and the atmosphere.

According to the-present invention the lines of the pneumatic jointing tube are independent of the rim of the mask, so that the pneumatic tube can adapt itself to any shape of head, and will thereby produce a close joint even under the most unfavorable circumstances. For the said purpose the mask is made of two parts, the rigid face part on the one hand, and a less rigid or pliable part on the other hand, serving to form a non-elastic but pliable support for the'joint. The rigid face part is fitted in known manner with various accessoriessuch -as air valve, air supply nipple, window. and

the like, and is coupled to the support for the jointing part by means of an elastic airtight member, which will admit of the said jointing part varying its shape.

The support for the joint is preferably made of a strong strap which is provided on its inside with an inflatable tube preferably of india rubber and which may be adjusted to various widths. The strap may, however, be omitted and in that case the inflatable tube is not made of india rubber but of a strong airtight fabric impregnated with india rubber.

' For the purpose of securing a fully satis factory joint at the parts of the head which are not very curved, when there is not rigid abutment for the pneumatic tube, the respective parts of the jointing tube are provided on their outside with more or less rigid reinforcing webs, which will force the inflated tube to closely adhere also at those parts of the face, which are flat, say" the cheeks. A further improvement of the joint may be obtained, by combining the jointing tube latter.

is preferably fitted with lpads z, i, as indiwith a collar, which will, on the mask being donned, encircle the whole front part of the head, and afford a sufficiently tight closure even if the pneumatic tube might become leaky or otherwise ineffective. The arrangement may be so made, that the collar also forms along its whole extent a pneumatic tube of a corresponding section.

In the accompanying drawings the invention is exemplified in various constructional forms.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a smoke mask and illustrates the manner of fixing the same to the head of the wearer. Fig. 2 is a perspective. view of the same mask on asmaller scale, in combination with the oxygen apparatus diagrammatically shown. Fig. 3 is another constructional form of the mask similar to Fig. 1. .Figs. 4-10 illustrate another modification of the jointing tube, the said tube being fitted with acollar. The mask proper is shown only in Fig. 4 by dotted lines, in the other figures it has been omitted for greater simplicity. The Figs. 4, 7 and :9 illustrate the position of the jointing tube on' the head of the wearer in side view Fig. 6 in front view,

whereas the Figs. 5, 8 and 10 show various modifications of the jointing tube in cross section. Figs. 11-15 illustrate theprovision of reinforcements for the jointingtube along the flat portions of the head; Figs. 1113 show these reinforcements in combination with an ordinary flat pneumatic tube; Figs. 14 and 15 show the reinforcements in combination with a pneumatic tube forming itself the collar.

'In Fig. 1 a is the jointing tube, 6 the more or lessrigid rear part of the mask, 0 the pliable intermediate part for conneot-ingthe support I) for the jointing tube a with the front rigid part d of-the mask. This rigid part forms a cap or casing covering the face, and is preferably made of sheet metal; in front it is provided with a glass window and below with a nipple f to which the respiration air tube may be. connected, which leads to the oxygen apparatus A (Fig. 2). g is a small air pump, which communicates by means of a tube 72, passing through the interior of the mask withthe jointing tube a, and serves for inflating the The rigid face part d of the mask cated in Fig. -1 by dotted nes. These pads bear against forehead and chin of the .wearer, so that the rigid part d or the window e -respectively are kept at the proper distance from the face. The support 6 for the jointing tube a and the connecting part 'c are made both of leather or another suitable material which is strong, pliable and airtight. The connecting part (2 may also\ be made of india rubber. If the adjoining tube ofsoft india rubber is to serve itself as the back part of the mask, it is provided with an outside strap or band I made of some pliable material such as leather which will adapt itself to the shape of the head and serve as rigid abutment toward outside for the soft pneumatic tube, so that I the latter can produce a close joint on the with india rubber or the like.

inside. The strap 6 surrounding the jointing tube may be ad'ustable, so as to allow of adapting it to difierent shapes of head. In place of the elastic jointing tube surrounded with a non-elastic but pliable strap also a tube of non-elastic airtight material may be used, say of canvas impregnated In such instance the abutment for the tube is formed by the outer wall of the same. This modification of the joint is shown in Fig. 3, which otherwise corresponds with Fig. 1. The tube is here connected to the front rigid part (1 the same as in the hereinbefore described modification, by means of a sleeve 0 of pliable. airtight material. This sleeve may however also be integral with the pneumatic tube.

Figs. 4-11 illustrate a constructional form of the jointing tube, in which the latter is combined with a collar encircling the front part of the head. In this constructional form the jointing tube can be directly connected to the rigid part of the mask, that is to say without need of the intermediate part mentioned in the constructional forms hereinbefore described. However, there is nothing to prevent such an intermediate part bein used as well. a

In the constructional form according to Figs. 4-6 the collar a is made in form of the pneumatic tube itself. The collar will, even when not inflated, adhere with its front edge closely and securely to the. face. When the tube is then inflated, the joint will be a perfect one. In case the tube should be damaged while working in localities filled with poisonous gases, the wearer will nevertheless be able to escape into a safe place with some recaution, as the collar will even when imp, prevent the noxious gases from enterin into the smoke mask. Besides the soft rubber generally employed for the jointing tubes of smoke masks, also fabrics impregnated with india rubber may be used for such collar, this latter material besides afiording a greater safety against dama es and bursting than soft rubber. The co ar tube a will remain in place by itself when inflated; it is however advisable to provide it with a back strap, so as to prevent it from slipping off the possibly inclined "surface of the skull. It will. not be necessary to pull this strap very tight, as the inflated tube will itself produce the necessary pressure against the respective parts of the head. Only in case the tube has become damaged, and when the collar alone has to produce the joint, the

back strap will come intooperation. The collar proper 1 of the pneumatic tube a may also be made of soft rubber without any hollow space inside, as shown in Figs. 7-10.

In the modification according to Figs. 7 and 8 the collar extends transversely to the pneumatic tube, whereas according to the modification in Figs. 9 and 10 the collar forms a flange directed toward inside. The joint produced by means of a collared pneumatic tube has the advantage, that comparatively large surfaces will be covered, and this will be far more agreeable to the wearer, than if the joint is produced in a narrow line only in form of constriction. The newjointing part may furthermore be made without any or almost without any crimp:

ing and so applied, whereas with the known plain jointing tubes will form plaits, at the bends chiefly, which are very disagreeable to the wearer.

When the smoke mask is made. with a loose back part, the disadvantage will be observed with certain shapes of heads, that the jointing tube bears properly only on the curved part of the skull and below the sweep of the chin, and the joint at the sides of the face is insufiicient. Even when inflated the tube may be drawn away from the face at these parts by a slight exertion only. This disadvantage is avoided by the arrangement according to Figs. 11-15, where the pneumatic tube is provided with reinforcementsalong the respective parts, said reinforcements being arranged on the outside of the tube. These reinforcements consist preferably of rigid or elastic metal straps, pieces of wood or the like, which are either secured directly to the tube, or to a separate strap of non-elastic material laid around the tube.

The reinforcing stays in may be either sides are preferably arranged at the -rear edge of the tube. The -I61I1f01g8l11811t3 on 'form of a collar, the reinforcements at the the face, where the close joint is to be pro-v duced.

I claim: 1. A smoke mask, consisting of a front rigid face part, a rear inflatable tube which.

' is laid'around the head of the wearer, a

liable airtight intermediate part extending from said face part rearwardly to said tube and non-elastic pliable means surrounding said tube and connecting it to said intermediate part. c.

2. A smoke mask, consisting of a front rigid face part, a rear inflatable tube which is laid around the head of the wearer, a pliable airti ht intermediate part extending from said ace part rearwardly andsurrounding said tube with its rear edge.

3. A smoke mask, consisting of a front rigid face part, a rear inflatable tube which is laid around the head of the wearer,-a pliable airtight intermediate part extending from said face part rearwardly'to said tube and non-elastic pliable means surrounding said tube and connecting it to said intermediate part, said non-elastlc pliable means consisting of an adjustable strap.

4:. A smoke mask, consistin of a front rigid face part, a rearpneumatic tube which is laid around the head of the. wearer, a

liable airtight intermediate art extending rom-said face part rearward y to said tube and non-elastic pliable means surrounding said tube and connecting it to' said intermediate part, saidltube having the shape of a sleeve extending forwardly and being of less perimeter on L ts front part.

5. A smoke ma'sk,' con'sisting of a front rigid face part, ajrear pneumatic tube which is laid around the head of the wearer, a pliable airtight-"intermediate part extending from said face'part rearwardly to said tube and non-elastic pliable means surrounding said tube and connecting it to said intermediate part, said tube having the shape. of a sleeve extending forwardly and being of less perimeter on its front part, said front part being solid.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses. v

ALEXANDER BERNHARD DRKGER; Witnesses: OsoAR Sonwrsrmz, J oHs. Wm. 

